So… this is the most amazing thing I’ve seen in a long time. An amazingly done parody of an 80s kung fu action movie which involves raptors, hackers, lots of explosions, and Nazis. Kung Fury. Harder than I’ve laughed in a long time. Warning: lots of bad language and gruesome but cartoony violence.

Do yourself a favor and watch at least the first three minutes.

By the way, progress on The Rift book 2 is coming nicely. Rough draft complete. I’d say I’m about 40% to publication.

Anyway, Kung Fury…

By Joseph|
2015-06-07T14:35:41+00:00 June 7th, 2015|Uncategorized|Comments Off on I don’t know the last time I laughed this hard.

I mean, in the US alone, book one sold 28 million copies. The trilogy got four movies. It’s one of the defining pieces of YA literature.

But what makes the writing so good, so strong?

A few months ago, I sat down to dissect the book like a biology specimen and learn to write better. Here are ten awesome lessons I learned in the process.

And yes, there will be spoilers.

Continuous narrative Makes for unbeatable pacing

The whole book is almost one continuous narrative. Often five or ten chapters will lead into one another without a break in time. Even sleep doesn’t create a scene break. Katniss generally has nightmares or something and wakes up in the same chapter.

This sticks you smack dab in the middle of Katniss’ head. And you don’t get a break. And so you can’t put the book down. The chapters aren’t long, but really, the book is composed of these super scenes, sometimes 100 pages, with chapter breaks thrown in just for convention.

Here’s an interesting quote from the City of God talking about stoicism (Book 14, chapter 9):

“And if some, with a vanity monstrous in proportion to its rarity, have become enamoured of themselves because they can be stimulated and excited by no emotion, moved or bent by no affection, such persons rather lose all humanity than obtain true tranquility.”

It’s a reminder that in Japan, one thing that people need to have transformed in them when they become Christians is their stoicism. The Spirit needs to teach them to feel again, to be passionate again, to mourn again, to love again.